Your progress northwards down the long sloping tunnel turns quickly from an exercise in negotiating mounds of festering garbage to a more exhausting process of simply remaining on your feet. The angle of the floor has steepened to the point that it is hard to maintain a firm footing, and you are forced to use handholds in the roughly hewn walls to stop yourself overbalancing and tumbling down the incline.After a hard 20 minutes struggle you come abruptly to a deep ravine that cuts through the tunnel. The rift is a good 4 metres wide, and you can only just see the passage continuing on the other side. It opens as nothing more than a dark smudge at the very edge of the light thrown by your torch. Below, in the darkness of the rift's depths you can hear the sound of rushing water. It is a distant rumbling murmur, one that emanates from the dark shadows below before being carried into the reaches of the gloom overhead. For a short time you stand at the lip of the abyss and consider the limited options that now present themselves to you. The tunnel behind is blocked. Your only possible way is forward across the divide.Taking a step back, you undo your backpack and hurl it across to the other side. With a sigh of relief you see it fall inside the tunnel opening opposite and disappear into its darkness. Next goes the torch and shortly after your weapon. After a moment's contemplation you take a few further paces back, and then running for all your worth attempt to leap the chasm.

Test your strength and agility attributes. If you pass both of these tests turn to section 28.
If you fail either one of these tests turn to section 428.

This book, and its associated books and other documents in the Chronicles of Arborell series are the intellectual property of the author, Wayne F Densley, and all rights are reserved by him. Windhammer is best viewed at 1024 x 768 resolution. Any questions regarding the Chronicles of Arborell can be answered by emailing the author at densleyw@shoal.net.au